It's very easy. Here's what I do

Drain the diff and unbolt the drive shaft from the 3rd. Undo the ebrake cable from the bracket on the drums. Remove the wheels. Remove the brake lines from the back of the brake drums. Brake fluid will begin to pour out, but in a pinch I used a small jewelers screwdriver wrapped in duct tape to plug the hole. Worked like a charm. Remove the 4 nuts on the back of the axle backing plate. Pull the axle shaft out of the housing. Be careful not to allow the shaft to rest on the oil seal inside the housing, as you will deform it and have to replace it. Remove the 12mm nuts from the housing and pull the diff out. When putting it back in, use some RTV gasket maker instead of the paper gasket.


Reinstall is basically the same as the removal. Just be carefull when pushing the axles back into the diff, as you can deform the seals if you rest the axle shafts on them as you put it in.